Month: September 2011

The Driver is a solitary man.  By day, he works in an auto shop and does part-time work for film industry as a stunt driver.  His boss and handler, Shannon, has a dream to put The Driver on the stock car racing circuit, but lacks the finances to do so.  Occasionally, through Shannon, The Driver takes the odd illegal job as a getaway driver.  He doesn’t want to know the people or the entire plan and offers his services up during a five-minute window of opportunity.  The Driver is very good at what he does, not only being an expert driver, but also having an intricate knowledge of the streets of Los Angeles.  This is what he does and who he is, nothing else seems to matter.  Then one day he meets Irene and Benecio, the mother and son who lives next door to him and his world is about to change dramatically.

That’s the basic premise to Drive, the latest film from star Ryan Gosling and Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn.  Until this very weekend, I was unfamiliar with the films of Refn, but thanks to Netflix Instant Play, I watched two of his prior films in anticipation of Drive. The two movies I watched were Bronson and Valhalla Rising and to say that I was impressed is mildly stating the claim.  Bronson tells the story of the UK’s most violent criminal Charley Bronson and thanks to Refn’s skillful direction and a tour-de-force performance from actor Tom Hardy, it is an extremely impressive movie.  Valhalla Rising set during 1000 AD, tells the story of the mute warrior One Eye and the journey he takes aboard a Viking vessel to an unknown land where he discovers his true self.  It’s an incredibly strong visual sensation with a terrific performance from Mads Mikkelsen as One Eye.  I’d handily recommend Bronson immediately and I’d also recommend Valhalla Rising though mass opinion on the latter is pretty sharply divided.  It’s a movie that demands patience from it’s viewer and some might not be ready to give it.  Regardless, after seeing both, and seeing the initial trailer to Drive, I honestly couldn’t wait to see this film.

While I enjoyed Drive quite a bit, I think I got my expectations up a little too high.  Now that’s no knock on the film by any means, but after what I saw with both Bronson and Valhalla Rising I was expecting to see something a little more “out there” with Drive just based on those two movies.  Drive is more conventional than what I thought it would be at least on it’s initial viewing, though I expect that to change for me when I see it again down the road.  Even though I’ve labelled it as “conventional” that’s not to say that it isn’t engaging in the slightest, it really is a good movie.

Refn has said that he saw his and Gosling’s pairing in this to sort of be like the pairings of Peter Yates and Steve McQueen in Bullitt or Lee Marvin and John Boorman in Point Blank. Those two movies are certainly high marks to shoot for and yes, there’s certainly echoes of both in Drive. To me though, I saw more similarities with Michael Mann’s Thief and William Friedkin’s To Live And Die in L.A. and there’s nothing wrong with that at all, those are two terrific films.

Drive essentially takes Refn’s style and mixes it with Hollywood convention, and I’d hoped it would’ve ventured further into the art house than what it did, though for some viewers, it still might be going to far.  This is a slow burn noir thriller mixed with complex character study. It’s deliberately paced to take the time to let us get to know The Driver so that it’s moments of action and violence really do stand out.  They certainly do, in particular with two sequences:  one after a job gone wrong and another with The Driver and Irene in an elevator.  These are real turning points in the film where are main character’s world has literally turned upside down and he uses extreme methods to try and set them right.  They’re real telling moments for the character of The Driver as they basically say that this character can’t possibly ever have the moments of peace and change that he thought he might get from meeting Irene and Benecio.

Drive certainly has a great look to it, reveling in it’s 80s homage, and Refn certainly shows great restraint with a lot of his choices.  He doesn’t go overboard with excessive sound or overly flashy visuals, except for those few moments when The Driver’s world explodes.  Last week, I praised the work of composer Cliff Martinez in the movie Contagion. Martinez is back again as the composer for Drive and he does an equally exceptional job here as well, coming close to bringing a feel of having Tangerine Dream doing the music for the movie.

Ryan Gosling (simply credited as Driver) isn’t exactly the actor that I’d picture making a movie like this, but he certainly does do a fine job.  Conscious choices were made with having The Driver have little dialogue and letting Gosling’s face tell the story.  It’s very effective with one moment going from a look of tranquility that he didn’t think he could ever have and then going to another scene with his face soaked in blood that really does show the true nature of the character.  To me, it’s obvious that he really enjoyed working with Refn, so much so that they’re already set to do another film together and reportedly both are talking about a re-imaging of the 70s science fiction film Logan’s Run (and personally, I hope they get the chance to do it). It’s a strong performance from Gosling and he certainly does carry the movie.

Gosling’s got a lot of great support.  Carey Mulligan plays Irene and she and Gosling have some very nice chemistry together.  Her innocent features just furthers the notion that she is the ideal that The Driver is searching for.  The great Bryan Cranston plays The Driver’s handler, Shannon and he’s terrific here with a lot of body language to his character that almost suggests that he’s channeling the late, great Jack Lemmon to some respect.  Oscar Isaac plays Standard, Irene’s husband who’s just been released from prison and still finds himself in a lot of trouble.  While Isaac is only in the movie for a short period, he has quite a difficult job and that’s establishing himself as this important figure in Irene and Benecio’s lives, making himself sympathetic to the audience, and then building a friendship of sorts with The Driver.  He does a great job and I’d only wished that there might’ve been at least one more scene for him to help him more further things along.

Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks play the villains of the piece, NIno and Bernie Rose respectively.  Perlman’s menacing enough, but don’t go into this expecting the same sort of gravity that he has with Sons of Anarchy. At first he seems as though he’s going to be the real villainous force here, but he’s not.  That’s reserved for Albert Brooks.  As we’re first introduced to Bernie, this almost seems as though it’s going to be a sort of “by-the-numbers” bit of business from Brooks, but as we get further along, he reveals a real venality and that was exciting to see.

I certainly do recommend Drive though I have to admit my expectations were quite a bit higher than they should’ve been. After having been so struck by his other films, I was hoping for more of the same with Drive. Still, it’s a great, more mainstream introduction for a mass audience to director Nicolas Winding Refn who to me anyway, is one of those directors to watch in the future.  From his past work, Refn has shown that he has moments that can certainly be compared to directors like Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch and Lars von Trier.  With Drive I can now add Michael Mann and William Friedkin to that list.  There’s a lot of style to Drive but it’s also balanced with a great deal of substance and while I wasn’t as struck by it as I thought I would be, I still think it’s well worth seeing.

Beth Emhoff is returning home to Minneapolis from a business trip to Hong Kong.  She’s feeling sick, but doesn’t really chalk it up to much than being a bad case of the flu.  Soon though, things go from bad to worse, as Beth (and others she had been in contact with) start to drop dead from their disease.  As more cases come forward, it becomes clear that a major pandemic is occurring and now it’s up to official government agencies to determine both the cause and a cure.

That is a real nutshell premise to the latest movie from director Steven Soderbergh, Contagion. Soderbergh is best known for his work with George Clooney in movies like the Ocean’s Eleven series of films and other films like Traffic and his breakthrough movie Sex, Lies and Videotape. I’m an absolutely huge fan of Soderbergh’s work and so I was very much looking forward to this movie.  While the trailers for this seem to suggest something that’s going to be a little more kinetic, the final film is much, much more clinical in it’s presentation, but still a very effective scientific thriller.

If there’s any of his past movies that Contagion most resembles, it’s probably Traffic. Both movies take a “big picture” look at their problems (for those that haven’t seen Traffic, it covered the problem of illegal drugs).  Contagion is spread over a four-month period showing everything from the rise of the problem, it’s personal effects, containment, and possible cures.  It’s a pretty realistic presentation of what would actually happen if a totally unknown virus got out of control that doesn’t go for heavy melodrama in the slightest.

There is no fantasy element present in this film; if you’re expecting zombies or some heavy duty Hollywood action to get to the bottom of the problem, then you’re best bet is to look elsewhere.  That’s not Soderbergh’s interest here.  As I said above, this is almost clinical in it’s presentation, but that doesn’t mean that’s it’s pure documentary. There is subtle drama here, though that drama is underscored by the big picture.  It’s a fascinating look at seeing true professionals carrying out their duties during a major crisis with what seems like no hope in sight.

Some of the criticisms that I’ve read about this mentions that the film is poorly paced and that characters are underdeveloped.  I couldn’t disagree more.  Soderbergh is juggling  a number of characters and events while trying to present this big picture and I thought he never lost sight of that.  It’s just that these aren’t Hollywood “big” characters and events.  To present this as a Hollywood “big” movie would undermine the true horror of what could happen in this situation. I thought this was evenly paced and that the characters felt “lived in.”  There are character arcs, but they are extremely subtle (in particular those involving Matt Damon’s and Marion Cotilliard’s characters).  While the presentation of events certainly does jump around, it’s in a logical and subtly escalating manner.

As I’d expect from Soderbergh, Contagion is extremely well made.  It’s a very good-looking film, very crisp and clear in it’s presentation.  There’s some very nice bits of editing for effect with standout moments being showing how the disease is spread near the start of the film and moments when Marion Cotilliard’s character is tracing the origin of the spread.  Cliff Martinez provides a terrific score for the film that really punches up everything, but again not in a big Hollywood way.

Contagion features a star-studded cast and I think they all do a nice job.  Gwyneth Paltrow plays Beth Emhoff who (and I don’t think I’m really spoiling anything by saying this) meets her end very early in the film.  I have to give her high points though for allowing Soderbergh to use her in some pretty interesting ways.  Beth may meet her end early, but it’s not the last that we see of her and her presence is felt throughout the movie.  Matt Damon plays her husband Mitch and he’s the everyman of the film.  Like he did in Soderbergh’s The Informant! Damon looks like he put on a few pounds in this movie (which I think actually adds to the reason for an act of indiscretion on Beth’s part, but it’s subtle) which I think actually helps his performance.  He probably has the biggest emotional moments in the movie, but they’re not overblown at all.

Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet play Drs. Ellis Cheever and Erin Mears, employees of the Center for Disease Control.  Winslet gets the showier part, actually playing a field agent who has to get a handle on the situation in Minneapolis.  Fishburne has to maintain the professional “face” of the CDC and he does a good job, but also has a nice (but subtle) character turn as well.

Marion Cotilliard plays Dr. Leonora Orantes who’s part of the World Health Organization and she’s given the task of traveling to Hong Kong to trace the origin of the disease.  She gets involved in something that’s pretty unexpected there and has a great character turn as her story concludes.  Jude Law plays Alan Krumwiede, a blogger/journalist who seeks to get the “sinister” truth out about what’s going on.  It’s also a pretty showy part for the film and while at first he certainly does seem to be this crusader there’s also some shadiness there as well.  It’s never quite resolved, but then that’s not the film’s point either.  What you think about Krumwiede is basically you’re own conclusion, but his use here certainly helps show Soderbergh’s big picture, especially with how new media is used to lay out the story.

Other cast notables include Jennifer Ehle, Elliot Gould and Bryan Cranston.  Ehle plays Dr. Ally Hextall, another employee of CDC who is fervently looking to discover a cure.  Gould plays Dr. Ian Sussman, an independent researcher who defies CDC orders in his investigation and recreation of the virus.  Cranston plays Lyle Haggerty, the military liason with the CDC and he certainly brings the right air of authority to the part.  As huge Breaking Bad fan, I really enjoyed seeing Cranston being a part of this, even if it was a small part, and I look forward to seeing him in next week’s Drive as well.

I think Contagion is an exceptional film. Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns deliver an effective thriller that doesn’t play to huge melodrama and instead plays to a realistic unfolding of events.  The ensemble cast are all quite good and totally in service to the story.  While I mentioned above that this reminded me of Soderbergh’s previous film Traffic, it also puts me in the mind of what you’d get if someone took a big Irwin Allen 70s disaster film and made it with an art house touch, and I don’t think that’s a bad combination at all.  If you’re looking for something that’s Hollywood “big” well then you might want to look elsewhere, but for me, Contagion was very satisfying.  Highly recommended.